Can You be Fit and Fat?

August 23, 2010 admin 1 comment

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Hi,

There was an article featured on Yahoo News titled “Can You be Fat and Fat”? It was originally published in Prevention this month by David Katz.

In it he states that some people can indeed be fit and heavy. That is a subtle change and one that most people might not pick up on.

I can cite numerous examples of heavy people that are fit. Start with most athletes.

They have bigger muscles and weigh more because of it. Yet, they are very fit individuals.

Some heavy weight bodybuilders weigh over 300 pounds, yet have less than 10% body fat. But, they are over weight by most health standardized charts.

But, what about the average Joe or Jane?

Here is where what you do and what you eat is more important than what you weigh.

If you move a lot and exercise then you are going to have bigger muscles. If you also eat a lot, then more than likely you will weigh more than is recommended.

But, if you are active then your internal organs are probably functioning properly. Your blood levels are probably okay. And if you feel great and can function then being a little overweight isn’t going to hurt you.

If the food you eat is mostly junk foods and you are overweight, then you are going to have health issues somewhere down the road.

This is true even if you are not overweight now.

The type of fat you have stored over the years will also make a difference to your health. If most of the fat is near the surface or skin of your body, this is not as bad for your health.

The fat that is stored deeper and next to your organs is called visceral fat. This is possibly the worst kind of fat you can have.

It is harder to get rid of and has more health consequences than surface fat.

Possibly the worst kind of fat you can have is the kind you lose and regain – time after time after time.

This losing and regaining weight is very harmful to your body.

It would be much better for you to maintain a higher weight and keep it there than to lose and regain it again and again.

Being leaner is usually considered healthier and I would agree with it. But, there are plenty of lean people that are not as healthy as some heavier people.

It has to do more with your lifestyle and the choices you make that will determine if you can be fit and fat.

We’ll look into this further in future posts.

Thanks,

Mike Val